Jaycee Dugard, who was allegedly held captive for 18 years in Northern California, has released her first public statement since resurfacing two months ago, saying she is happy to be with her family and have their unconditional love and support.
Dugard, now 29, released the statement to People magazine along with photos of herself as an adult.
The magazine published the photos on its Web site early Wednesday.
Dugard was 11 when police say Phillip and Nancy Garrido kidnapped her, then allegedly held her captive. Police say the couple raped Dugard and Phillip Garrido fathered her daughters. The Garridos have pleaded not guilty.
Dugard was not interviewed by the magazine, although people close to her spoke at length about her rehabilitation and that of her two daughters, Angel, 15, and Starlit, 11. Dugard and her daughters are recovering from their long ordeal at an undisclosed location in northern California; Jaycee’s mother, Terry Probyn, is with them.
The 10-page article is accompanied by many pictures of Dugard and her mother. Dugard’s daughters are shown only from the back.
TODAY’s Matt Lauer asked People’s managing editor, Larry Hackett, if the magazine paid for the photographs, which were taken by a private photographer engaged by the family.
“We have bought photographs in the past,” Hackett said, apparently confirming that the family was paid for the pictures. “I don’t want to go into the details.”
‘She looks radiant’
Hackett said that Dugard and her mother decided to allow publication of the photos and to tell their story because of the intense interest.
“They thought, ‘We want to control this situation. Let’s do it now,’ ” Hackett told Lauer.
Hackett remarked on how well Dugard looks in the photos. “She looks radiant, she looks healthy, she looks happy,” he said. But, he added, the story in the magazine shows recovering from years of abuse will not be easy.
“As you read the story, you realize this is a long process, an extraordinary process of her trying to get her life back,” Hackett said. “It’s a long, slow process. Somebody likened it to an adoptive parent meeting their child. There’s 18 years of time to make up. I just don’t think she’s ready to answer a lot of questions involving a lot of things that have happened in her life.”
Erika Schulte, a family spokeswoman for Probyn and Dugard, also spoke with TODAY’s Ann Curry. She said the interview is the family’s way of thanking all the people who have sent messages of support.
“I have seen a family,” Schulte said. “If you didn’t know the circumstances, it would just seem like any other family. [They] are just very close and comfortable and happy.”
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